Question 1

Is hantavirus contagious between humans?

Accepted Answer

Generally no. Most hantaviruses spread from rodents to humans only. The exception is Andes virus in South America, where person-to-person transmission has been documented during outbreak clusters.

Question 2

How deadly is hantavirus?

Accepted Answer

Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) in the Americas has a case-fatality rate of around 35–38%. HFRS in Europe and Asia ranges from about 1% (Puumala) to 15% (Hantaan/Dobrava).

Question 3

What's the incubation period?

Accepted Answer

Symptoms typically appear 1–8 weeks after exposure to infected rodents — usually 2–4 weeks.

Question 4

Is there a vaccine?

Accepted Answer

No vaccine is currently approved in the US, EU or most countries. Vaccines exist in parts of Asia for HFRS strains. Prevention focuses on rodent control.

Question 5

How do I avoid hantavirus?

Accepted Answer

Seal homes against rodents, ventilate enclosed spaces before cleaning, wet-clean (don't sweep) areas with rodent droppings, and wear gloves and a mask when handling potentially contaminated material.

Question 6

How is HantavirusMap different from official sources?

Accepted Answer

We aggregate signals from a range of official public health surveillance sources into one map. We don't replace official public health authorities — we link back to every primary source.

Question 7

How fresh is the data?

Accepted Answer

Active alerts are refreshed every few minutes. Historical case counts update on official surveillance schedules — typically weekly to annually.